Cap feeding device



y 1947. l. H. MILLER ,423,333

CAP FEEDING DEVICE Original Filed Jung 23, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 racy- INVENTOR IEMIZ ller,

ATTORN EYS y 1, 1947- l. H. MILLER 2,423,333

' CAP FEEDINGDEVICB Or'iginali'iled June 23. 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR u.- s IHMzJller,

ATTORN YS Patented July 1, 1947 CAP FEEDING DEVICE Ira H. Miller, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owens- I Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Original application June 23, 1942, Serial No.

448,177. Divided and this application Decemher 9, 1944, Serial No. 567,392

My invention relates to a machine for placing liners in caps for use as closure devices for bottles or other containers.

An object of the invention is'to provide a machine adapted to receive caps simultaneously from two different chutes or sources of supply, feed them inwardly toward a discharging station during the assemblingof the liners therewith, and discharge them to a conveyor by which they are carried from the machine,

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of feeder cam by which two rows of caps may be fed concurrently from opposite sides of the machine during the lining operations and discharged to a common conveyor at a discharging station located centrally of the cam.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig.1 is a front elevation of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a part-sectional plan view showing particularly the feedercam.

Fig. 3 is a section at the line 3-4 on Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a glue feeder.

Fig, 6 is a sectional detail showing adjustable guides for the caps.

Fig. '7 is a sectional elevation at the line l-'l on Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a section at the line 8% on Fig. '7.

This application is a division of my copending application, Ser. No. 448,177, filed June 23, 1942, for Lining machines.

The framework of the machine comprises a base l0, posts H rigidly secured thereto, and an upper platform l2 mounted on said posts. A feeder cam l3 by which the caps are fed inwardly from opposite sides of the machine toward the center during the assembling operations, is attached to a vertical cam shaft H. the lower end of which is .iournalled in the machine base l0. The shaft l4 and cam are rotated continuously by an electric motor I5 mounted on theplatform i2. Driving connections for the cam shaft include a belt I 6. a horizontal shaft l'l driven thereby and intermesbln bevel gears l8 and I! on the shafts I1 and II respectively,

The cam II is in the form of a pair of cam arms 20 and 20 which are integrally united and connected to the shaft l. These arms extend snirally outward from the shaft and are shaped to form spiral passageways 2| and 2| of a width to accommodate caps 22 which are fed to the machine through chutes 23 positioned at opposite sides of the machine. The chutes register with l Claims. (Cl. 113-114) runways or guideways 2i extending inwardly toward the center of the machine. Each runway is formed by means of a pair of guide strips 25 which are setin a recessed section it of the machine base. The guide strips are separately adjustable laterally by means of. screw-threaded adjusting rods Tl (Fig. 6). This permits the guideways to be accurately adjusted in respect to the feeder cams and also permits the width to be adjusted to accommodate caps of different sizes.

The feeder cam is positioned over and close to the machine base 10. Narrow plates or bars 23 overlie said base and are spaced therefrom by spacing blocks 29. The spiral cam grooves 29 and 2|" are shaped to provide dwell portions concentric with the shaft it So that the movement of the caps 22 under the control of the cam arms is intermittent as more fully set forth hereinafter.

Each of the cam arms 20 and 26! serves a double function. Thus the arm 20, for example, operates as a cam for feeding the caps inwardly from the left-hand side of the machine (Fig. 2), and also serves as a backing for the aps which are bein fed from the right-hand side of the machine, holding said caps against the other cam arm iii. Conversely. the arm 20 feeds the caps inwardly from the right-hand side while the arm 2t holds the caps in contact with the arm 26.

Slidably mounted on the posts ii for up-anddown movement is a carrier plate 3i? positioned between the upper platfor i2 and the base iii. Cranks 3| on the shaft I! are connected to the carrier plate '30 through onnecting rods 3'2 for reciprocating said plate vertically. The gearing between the crank shaft ill and the cam drive shaft i4 is proportionedito give two complete rotations of the shaft i! for each rotation of the movement inwardly is brought beneath the punch which operates to cut a liner disk from a strip of lining material and carry it downward into the cap therebeneath. At the next station the pounder 31 operates to tamp the liner securely tainers.

acsaeae in place within the cap. This completes the assembly operation and at the nextstation the cap is discharged onto a conveyor 40. A jet of air supplied through the blower pipe 38 insures the proper transfer of the cap to the conveyor. The latter may be a continuously traveling belt conveyor directly beneath the machine base l0, traveling in a direction transverse to the channels 24 and of a width to receive the caps from both sides of the machine. As the caps fed into the machine from opposite sides may be of different construction or design, it is sometimes desirable to keep the two rows separate on the belt 40 so that they may be discharged into separate con- For this purpose a partition strip 4! Fig. 1) may be positioned over the conveyor,

The glue dropper as shown in Fig. comprises upper and lower tubular sections 42 and 43 which telescope, the upper section being screw threaded into the carrier plate 30. The lower section is in the form of a chambered head 44 into which glue or other liquid adhesive is fed under pressure through a pipe 45. The lower end of the head 44 is in the form of a nozzle which is opened and closed by means of a valve 46 having a valve stem'41 extending upwardly through the dropper and threaded through the section 42. A coil spring 48 holds the valve closed. When the carrier plate 30 is moved downward the nozzle is carried downwardly into or in close proximity to the cap 22. A stop arm 49 attached to one of the posts II and adjustable up and down thereon, is positioned to engage and stop the head 44 shortly before the carrier plate completes its downward movement, so that the valve 46 is opened during such movement and permits the discharge of lue into the cap 22. As the plate 30 rises, the spring 48 closes the valve.

At the next station a liner is punched from a stock strip and introduced into the cap. The punch and die mechanism as shown in Fig. 7 comprises a punch 50 and an annular die 5|, the latter mounted in a block 52 bolted to the plate 28. The punch is moved downwardly with the carrier plate 30 by means of a tubular rod 53, the upper end of which has a screw-threaded connection with the plate 30 and the lower end of which has attached thereto a head 54. The lower end of said head provides an annular seat for the punch which is held to its seat by a coil spring. 55 which is held under compression between the head 54 and a collar 56 on the stem 51 of the punch 50.

The liners are cut from a strip of stock which is fed through a slot 58 extending through the block 52. In addition to the downward movement imparted to the punch 50 by the plate 30, it is given a further movement by means comprising a rock arm 60, one end of which is pivoted to a bracket 6i mounted on the underside of the platform l2 and the other end of which'has a slot and pin connection 82 with the stem 51. The downward swinging movement 01' the rock arm bv which the punch is moved downwardly away from the head 54, is controlled by a rod 63 Figs. '7 and 81 mounted on the carrier plate 30. The upper end 64 of the rod overhangs a stop lug .65 formed on the rock arm.

In operation. the punch 50'is carried downwardly with. the plate 30 to an intermediate position as shown in Fig. 'l and in cooperation with the die ring 5| severs a liner disk from the stock strip. During this downward movement the punch is held against the head 54 by the spring 55 until the rod 63 engages the lug 55. The conthrough the rod 63 to swing the rock arm about its pivot and thereby move the punch downward at a higher speedthan the plate 30. thus carrying the liner disk rapidly downward into the cap therebeneath.

When the cap with the liner therein is advanced to the next station it is brought beneath the tamping device or pounder 31 which operates to tamp the liner in the cap so that it is securely held by the adhesive previously applied through the dropper 35. At the next station the cap is discharged onto the conveyor 40. This operation is assisted by the pipe 38 which may serve as a pusher if the cap fails to drop by gravity. The air jet supplied through said pipe operates further as a pusher after the cap is out of contact with the pipe.

The caps may be fed to the machine by gravity through the chutes 23. In order to hold the caps securely against the feeder cam until they have entered the guideways 2| and 2i, air jets rinsay be directed against the caps through pipes The feeder cam is so shaped that the caps are held stationary by the dwell portions thereof while the carrier plate 30 is within the lower portion of its range of movement, during which time the several assembling operations are taking place. The caps are fed inwardly while the carrier plate 30 is in its lifted position or the upper portion of its path of movement. It will be noted that the crank shaft 11 makes a complete rotation while the feeder cam makes one half of a complete rotation and during this time both rows of caps are fed inwardly one step so that a pair 01 caps is discharged to the conveyor 40,

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A lining machine comprising a fiat cam shaped to provide a spiral passageway lying in a single plane, means for rotating the cam about an axis perpendicular to said plane. and means a for feeding caps to the cam at opposite sides of said axis, said cam being shaped to advance caps toward said axis simultaneously from opposite sides thereof. e

2. A lining machine comprising a horizontal straight guideway for holding and directing caps in a straight line, a horizontal spiral cam positioned over said guideway, and means for rotating the cam about an axis perpendicular to and intersecting said line, the cam having a plurality of spiral cam surfaces each extending spirally inward from the periphery of the cam toward said axis, the outer ends of said cam surfaces being symmetrically spaced at intervals along said periphery and at equal distances from said axis, the cam surfaces being shaped to advance the caps along said guideway toward said axis.

3. A lining machine comprising a horizontal straight guideway for holding and directing caps in a straight line, a horizontal spiral cam positioned over said guidoway, and means for rotat ing the cam about an axis perpendicular to and intersecting said line, the cam having a plurality of spiral cam surfaces each extending spirally inward from the periphery of the cam toward said axis, the outer ends of said cam surfaces being symmetrically paced at intervals along said periphery and at equal distances from said axis, the cam surfaces being shaped to advance the caps along said guideway toward said axis,

the said cam surface being provided with dwell portions concentric with said axis whereby the movement imparted to caps is intermittent.

4. A lining machine comprising straight runways extending from opposite sides of the machine toward the center thereof, a feeder device comprising spiral cam arms mounted for rotation about an axis between and-perpendicular to said runways, means for rotating the cam arms and thereby causing them to feed caps inwardly concurrently from opposite sides of the machine through said runways, a horizontally-disposed traveling conveyor extending through the center of the machine, beneath and transversely of said runways, and means for transferring the caps from said runways and positioning them on said conveyor in separate rows individual to said runways. r

5. A lining machine comprising in combination, a vertical cam shaft, a cam secured thereto, means for rotating the shaft and cam, said cam comprising spiral cam arms extending from said shaft and arranged in the same horizontal plane, straight runways adjacent to and parallel with said cam, said runways being shaped to receive caps and hold them in the path of the cam arms and guide them inwardly toward said shaft as they are advanced along the runways by the cam arms. I

6. A lining machine comprising a horizontal cam, means for rotating it about a vertical axis, said cam comprising a pair of spiral cam arms extending spirally from said axis and spaced to provide spiral cam passageways of substantially uniform width throughout their length, the outer ends of said arms and of said grooves terminating at diametrically opposite points along the periphery of the cam, means providing horizontal guideways arranged in a straight line beneath said cam with their inner ends adjacent to said axis, said guideways being shaped and positioned for holding caps in the paths of the cam arms and guiding them inwardly toward said axis in a straight line as they are advanced along the spiral passageways by the rotating cam arms.

7. A lining machine comprising a horizontal cam, means for rotating it about a vertical axis,

said cam comprising a pair of spiral cam arms extending spirally from said axis and spaced to provide spiral cam passageways substantially of uniform width throughout their length, the outer ends of said arms and of said grooves terminating at diametrically opposite points along the periphery of the cam, means providing horizontal guideways arranged in a straight line beneath said cam with their inner ends adjacent to said for holding caps in the paths of the cam arms and guiding them inwardly toward said axis in a straight line as they are advanced along the spiral passageways by the rotating cam arms, said arms and cam tracks being formed with dwell portions at diametrically opposite positions with respect to said axis, whereby the movement, imparted to the caps is intermittent and the caps in both said guideways are arrested during the same time intervals.

IRA H. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The iollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 887,883 Wheeler May 19, 1908 1,869,480 Johnson Aug. 2,1932 1,387,037 Binder Aug. 9, 1921 2,138,923 Johnson Dec, 6, 1928 1,858,695 Weisenburg May 17, 1932 2,342,621 1944 Elder Feb. 22, 

